


Cucumbers are a Travesty

by Beth Harker (Beth_Harker)



Category: Newsies (1992)
Genre: Canon Era, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 14:33:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17163749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beth_Harker/pseuds/Beth%20Harker
Summary: It's about food.





	Cucumbers are a Travesty

David sat across from Jack, watching him eat. Usually when Jack ate he bolted down his food as if it might disappear at any second. It was a good thing that he did that, really. Neither he nor David were terribly talented in the cooking department. A lot of Jack’s more creative endeavors in the kitchen were enough to make David gag, but he always took a certain amount of comfort in the knowledge that Jack would clean his own plate no matter what kind of disaster he’d manage to cover it with.

Jack wasn’t shoveling food into his mouth now. David’s mother had taken to bringing bags of vegetables over most weeks, out of a certain motherly fear of what the boys’ diets would be like if they were left entirely to their own devices. This week it had been a bag of cucumbers, and David had dug into it as soon as she was politely thanked, gone, and far enough away to eliminate any concern that she would admonish him for eating her gifts straight away instead of trying to develop them into a bountiful and nutritious meal.

The point was, though, that by the time David was considering going in for a second cucumber, Jack had still only taken a few bites of his, chewing so slowly that he reminded David of a puppy being given solid food for the first time.

“What is it?” David asked.

Jack cocked his head to the side. “Dunno.” He took another bite of his cucumber, his face contemplative.

David must have looked very concerned at that point, because Jack met his eyes, then clapped him on the back, laughing.

“Are you out of your mind?” David asked.

“Nah,” another laugh, slightly astonished. “I’m fine, but you know what Dave?”

“What?”

“Well, I never hated a food before, but I think I hate cucumbers.”

“You’re laughing because you hate cucumbers?”

“Yeah. Here, you eat this.” Jack tossed his cucumber at David with a look of exaggerated disgust.

David shrugged, and took a bite out of the cucumber. He wouldn’t really mind having the bag to himself. Cucumbers were one of his favorites.

It was only later in the day, after David kissed Jack and Jack joked that he could still taste the flavor of cucumbers on his tongue, that David realized what a big deal this was. Jack had spent more than half of his life trying not to starve. Hating certain foods hadn’t been a luxury he’d been able to afford.

“What other foods do you hate?” David prompted. He’d expected Jack to have to think about it for a while, but his answer came right away.

“Coffee!”

“Yeah. I knew that. You make faces whenever I give it to you, and get angry if I horde it all for myself.”

“Feel free to horde away.”

“Trust me,” David said, “I will. Any chance of convincing you that putting cinnamon in everything is disgusting?”

“What’s the matter with cinnamon? I love cinnamon.”

David shook his head. Just because Jack had started to taste his food didn’t mean that he was liable to develop any taste at all. It was a start, though.


End file.
